Symbolic Significance of Star Motifs in Islamic Geometric Decoration and Contemporary Trademark Design in Pakistan

Geometric decoration in Islamic art has a special significance having symbolic meanings. Star motif is one of the most prominent shapes employed in these geometric decorations. These motifs, as they originated with spiritual essence in Persia around nineth century, were carried on as an influential factor in South Asian art, particularly Mughal art. The surface embellishments of the Mughal monuments are flooded with geometries having various types of star motifs. Interestingly, the contemporary trademark design in Pakistan reveals great influence from these geometric star motifs. Having a symbolic significance, these designs create a profound visual impact in communication. This research puts forth the symbolic meaning behind the star used in Islamic geometric decoration, and presents its influence on contemporary visual communication design in Pakistan. The designs studied for this research are the trademarks of banks, universities, government departments, and other private companies and brands. The research, after examining the formal quality of the star motifs with reference to the respective meanings, establishes the significance of star motif in visual communication


Introduction
Islamic geometric pattern holds a sacred position among all forms of Islamic art.The spiritual aspect associated with this pattern has a great impact on the devotees and scholars.The need for the creation of these non-figurative design elements aroused as an outcome of prohibition of figurative depiction in Islam.Although, history of the Islamic art reveals some of the exceptions like miniature paintings with figures of humans and animals, yet the sacred art like illuminated sacred text and sacred architectural structures highly leaned towards geometric motifs and arabesque patten for an aesthetic and spiritual appeal.The complex repetition of the geometric pattern has a significant character of infinity, symbolic of Divine quality.Having its historical evolution in the Sassanian Empire, Greek and Roman Civilizations, geometric pattern originated around nineth century in Persia with an Islamic ideology. 1In Islamic art, it emerged historically from a simpler to a completely evolved intricate pattern.Each geometric pattern is built upon four basic shapes, which are circles, squares, stars, and polygons.These basic shapes, overlapping and interlacing, become a continuous chain of connected patterns forming an ultimate unity and order.This article presents the historical review of the star motifs used in Islamic architectural decorations.The surface ornamentation of South Asian monuments has a great influence on contemporary design in Pakistan.The motifs used for embellishment purpose in these monuments have a meaningful significance.The adoption of the historic motifs in contemporary trademark designs reveals a substantial influence of the former on the latter.This research focuses on the star motifs having varying number of points, including fivepointed to twelve-pointed stars, and even more.The different meanings associated with each of the distinct star show the vastness of symbolic knowledge.With the exploration of these meanings, this research contributes towards the understanding of star motif and its ideology.
Star Motif: Its Types and Symbolic Meanings Before proceeding towards the historic review, presented here are the type of star shapes according to the number of points.With every type, the meaning is explained to have a basic understanding of their symbolic meanings.1. Five-pointed Star or Pentagram: It symbolizes human.The five points in this star represent the head at the upper point, two arms on the sides, and two legs below.However, the same shape when turned upside down represents devil with two horns at the top. 2 Additionally, it refers to the five senses that the human has been blessed with.From Islamic point of view, the five points in pentagram symbolize five prayers of a day and five pillars of Islam. 3 2. Six-pointed Star or Hexagram One of the most commonly appearing motifs is the six-pointed star, where the two triangles are inversely overlapped to form the hexagram.This pattern is also termed as threefold symmetry.Six-pointed star is the representation of faith in Judaism, and known as the "Star of David" or the star of Prophet Dawud (PBUH).In the medieval age, this motif began to be associated with the identity of Jews.Whereas, its use in Islamic decoration is linked with its representation of the seal of Prophet Sulayman (PBUH) in addition to that of Prophet Dawud (PBUH). 4gure 2. Formation of six-pointed star.

Seven-pointed star or Heptagram
Drawn with a single continuous line, seven-pointed star is the symbolism of eternity.Seven-pointed star's symbolism is associated with the number seven and the elements existing in seven, such as colors of the "rainbow, the seven seas, and the seven musical notes". 5This motif has a special significance in different religions.With Islamic perspective, it is the representation of seven heavens.It also denotes the first seven verses of the Holy Quran, and the Islamic ritual of circumambulation around the Kaabah seven times. 6gure 3. Seven-pointed Stars.

Eight-pointed star or Octagram
The other most popular star in Islamic decoration is eight-pointed star, where two squares are overlapped to form the octagram.This star pattern is also termed as fourfold symmetry.According to Islamic perspective, it symbolizes the eight angels that will be around the throne of Allah on the day of judgement.In addition, the two squares placed with 45-degree difference in their positions with a circle within, is also referred to as Rubel-Hizb, which means "division in quarters" of the Holy Quran for easy recitation and memorization.

Nine-pointed star or Enneagram
Nine is the highest number among the one-digit numbers, therefore the nine-pointed star symbolizes "completeness, perfection, totality, and wholeness". 8This shape represents unity and oneness because of the characteristic of number nine to contain all the one-digit numbers.As all the higher digit numbers are made up of these one-digit numbers, therefore number nine is considered to encompass everything. 9Although this star represents Baha'i faith, yet it appears in Islamic decoration where it is the representation of oneness of God and Completeness of Islam as a religion.(Source: "Nine-pointed Star," https://www.outofstress.com/9-pointed-starmeaning/).

Ten-pointed star or Decagram
The ten-pointed star is not particularly associated with any particular symbolic significance with regards to the religion of Islam.Rather, its utilization in Islamic religious art is more general, with a focus on the beauty and marvels of the heavenly realms as manifestations of the Almighty.

Eleven-pointed star or Hendecagram
This star shape also does not have a direct connotation of Islamic ideology.Its use in Islamic art is based on decorative purpose.Nevertheless, as a star it is depictive of the light and guidance that leads the human to the right path.

Twelve-pointed star or Dodecagram
The twelve points in this star are the representation of twelve months. 10

Multiple-pointed stars
The star can be multiple-pointed, having various points, which is the representation of God's creation of celestial bodies, light, guidance and the Divine order, in addition to universal diversity.However, in Islamic art, the abundantly used geometric motifs also refer to the fine aesthetic taste of the Muslim patrons and the interest in complex designs.
The intricate geometries form a chain of different patterns, connecting various types of stars and the polygons in between them.The loaded geometric ornamentation also reflects the splendor of the Islamic empires of Persia and the Mughals.Different polygons including (but not limited to) hexagons and octagons are formed in between the connected stars (figs.10-12).

Study of Star Motifs in Islamic Ornamentation
Nevertheless, there is no limitation of geometric patterns in Islamic art.Several pointed stars appear in the surface ornamentation of numerous Muslim architectural monuments, with various levels of spiritual essence reflecting the states of believer's heart.In Iran the shrine of Shah Nematollah Vali (1431) displays a variety of stars including five, seven, nine, ten, eleven, and twelvepointed stars (fig.13). 11ar, with its radial symmetry has some symbolic connotations associated with Islamic ideology.All types of stars are contained with in circumference of a circle which is touched by all vertexes of the star.Circle with no ending point, itself is representation of the oneness of God -the infinite power, who has always been there and always will be.The space of this circle is occupied by a star with any number of vertexes, which symbolize radiation of the light of God in all directions, as quoted by Allah in the Holy Quran "Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth". 12Unlike other religions where God is represented through iconographic figures, Islam's prohibition of such figurative representation has given birth to the geometric aesthetics.
Besides being symbolic of the Divine light, stars have also served as navigator in the dark during the early eras.Qiblah direction for the Muslim's prayers is also determined by the navigational north star, hence surface decoration of the mosques employ this pattern.Furthermore, meditation which helps achieve a constant focus and leads to a spiritual state, is reflected in the continuous repetitive geometric pattern, which is perfectly harmonized by the combination of different stars and polygons.Greek mathematicians also link the perfect geometry with divine qualities.Analysis of the Greek studies have been agreed upon by the Muslim scholars to connote the geometric stars as "a spiritual gate to the divine plane". 13The geometric formation of stars evolved to form various complex embellishments in numerous forms of Islamic art like on ceramics, illuminated manuscripts, and particularly surface ornamentation in architecture.This Persian influence forms a basis of South Asian art during the Mughal Empire.One of the epitomes of such ornamentation is the Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah in Agra, India (1622-1628) with sheer aesthetics in its decorative motifs (figs.14-17).Operating with the similar Islamic principles, Dubai Islami Bank depicts its global outreach through a globe form in green color, on which circular forms overlap to form a golden star, with its center filled with maroon color (fig.25).The colors and the motif both are symbolic of the financial services based on Islamic values. 14The golden accents represent banks excellence and ingenuity.The bold and legible Fonts in English and Arabic, placed on the right of the globe create a balance in the design.The trademark designs of Islamic Banks speak for the Islamic ideological perspective.The visual appeal created by the Islamic motifs drives the Muslim customer's towards Islamically regulated financial system.These trademarks strongly depict bank's commitment towards offering Islamically aligned financial services, besides signifying its leading position globally.The points of star in all the directions gives the idea of the power of knowledge which enlightens the minds and the world.The star motifs also appear in the trademark designs of University of Management and Technology (UMT), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), and University of South Asia (USA).The ten-pointed star in the trademark design of UMT is contained within a ten-sided polygon (fig.27).Inside the star is a circle having university's abbreviation.The blue and white color combination makes the trademark design sophistically appealing.Star is usually symbolic of excellence and achievement, besides illumination of thoughts.With the perspective of educational institution, star motif has a paramount significance, representing the role played by the institution for the guidance and inspiration of the learners.In addition, it is also depictive of the direction towards goals, because of star's historic function as navigator in the dark.The star motifs in the trademarks of LUMS and USA are depicted in a half (figs.28, 29).The former is a six-pointed star divided to show only three points, while latter is eight-pointed star divided to show just the four points.
Both the designs placed within a domical shape, highlighting the significance of knowledge in the religion of Islam.These universal symbols of star and dome, suggest the reach of these private universities, offering the advance facilities in education system according to the international standards.The five-pointed star in the trademark design of Pakistan Cricket Board recalls the star in Pakistan's national flag (fig.30).It represents the national identity as well as patriotism.With reference to cricket, the game which is highly celebrated in Pakistan, this star signifies the national pride, and excellence that Pakistan has gained on national and international levels.Moreover, it is symbolic of the high achievements that Pakistani cricket team is globally known for.Pakistan Railways is known for its historical importance.Originating during the British Raj, the railways has continued to serve the passengers till present day Pakistan.Its trademark is an eight-pointed star, which represents the railways' function in navigating and leading the passengers from one place to the other (fig.31).This star motif symbolizes the quality service that has built customers' trust in the company.This motif emphasizes the railways' reputation in the transport industry.The washing detergent Ariel has a different approach.Three elliptical shapes overlap each other to form a six-pointed star, which emits light in the center (fig.33).Here the points are nor sharp but rounded in accordance to the elliptical shapes.The ideology that Ariel adopts with reference to the star is its characteristic of shining and brightness.Here the brand highlights the capability of its detergent to make the cloths shine brighter.The trademark represents Ariel's attributes and its efficacy in brightly cleaning the fabrics.The trademark design shows the brand's capability of making the washed fabric gleam like a star.Being the vital element of the Islamic decoration, the star motifs have continued to be used in South Asia since the Mughal Era till the present day.The influence of the star motif is widely observed in the contemporary trademark designs in Pakistan.These designs though reflect the inspiration from Islamic ideology, however different institutions, organizations, banks, universities, brands, and companies have employed the star in association with respective services.The simplified star motifs in the trademark designs present a new visual approach, yet the basic meanings behind the star i.e., light, navigation, guidance, and excellence, still associate with these designs.The contemporary trademark design shows the influence of meaning with regard to the mission and values of the company in addition to the historical context.

Figure 12 .
Figure 12.Tiles in the shape of eight-pointed stars and crosses, 13 th century, Iran.(Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art).

Figure 18 .
Figure 18.Geometric motifs with sixpointed stars in the interior of Maryam Zamani Mosque, Lahore.(Source: Captured by the author).

Figure 19 .
Figure 19.Geometric motifs with fivepointed and ten-pointed stars in the interior of Maryam Zamani Mosque, Lahore.(Source: Captured by the author).

Figure 20 .
Figure 20.Inlaid floor in the interior of Jahangir's Tomb, Lahore.(Source: Captured by the author).

Figure 21 .
Figure 21.Geometric Pattern on the exterior of Jahangir's Tomb, Lahore.(Source: Captured by the author).

Figure 22 .
Figure 22.Floor of a pavilion at Shalimar Gardens, Lahore.(Source: Captured by the author).

Figure 31 .
Figure 31.Trademark of Pakistan Railways.(Source: Pakistan Railways, https://www.pakrail.gov.pk/).The star motif with varying number of points appearing in the trademark designs of numerous brands and companies mark the focus of branding strategy of the certain brand or company.The trademark of Star Asia News Channel is made up of a five-pointed star (fig.32).The blue colored star contains within it a gold colored navigation sign, which typifies the historic characteristic of